Daybreak's Call
by Zanzetsuken
Summary: AU. I once thought I could trust you. I once believed every word you said because it gave me hope. But as I look back, you were only using me weren't you? You turned the ones I loved against me and for that I will never forgive you. Terqua, Vanami
1. Prologue : Nightmare

**Disclaimer : I do not own Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts or Disney! They each belong to their respective owners.**

Please forgive any common errors or mistakes. This is my first story on so I hope you enjoy guys!

PM ME for any enquiries.

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

**Nightmare**

Rain continuously fell upon the pavement dousing the small embers that burned the rooves of houses, drenching the blood-filled streets. Crimson drained into the gutters but the red stains were like deep scars; they could never be removed. Rats scurried from house to house, scavenging for shelter from the endless rain. Blood was splattered against the wall and corpses lay on the gory pavement marking them, detailing anyone who dared to enter this once-peaceful village of the massacre that had occurred.

A limping form walked across these crimson streets, tired from searching for any survivors. The young boy fell against the doors to the town church and rested. His wet bangs, which gently framed his face, stirred as his face did. Small scratches were etched onto his young tanned face, while a deep gash ran along the side of his cheek. Blood stained his lean body, his face, his orange shirt and his cargo pants. The burning houses shone a painful light in his eyes. His eyes used to be a strong light blue but after the slaughter of his hometown, they have faded into a dark blue depicting the horrors he saw. His teary eyes cried rivers as he saw what his once beautiful village had become; a dead and barren graveyard. The rain only made the pain worse, smearing the blood of the fallen down the walls, painting his entire landscape a deep red.

He continued to sob a sad melody, with the bodies of the residents as his only audience.

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><p>My god, the prologue is done! Whew!<p>

Anyway, please review and help my writing skills! If not, become my betareader! :D

Over and out!

DCX


	2. Kindness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts or Disney. They belong to their respective owners.  
><strong>

**Genres: Adventure and Drama with a hint of Mystery and a dash of Romance.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>

**Kindness  
><strong>

The gateway that lied at the entrance of the town had been completely destroyed. Its golden hinges and frame were bent and the wooden complex was incised with cuts and dents. In a fraction of a second, a flash of light right before the gate, showering the space with white flakes.

Two beings emerged from the ray of light, one was sporting a heavy amount of armour, while the other was wearing no such. Rather, the unarmored man wore a long, dark sleeveless vest reaching up to his mid-thigh, as well as simple black pants tucked into his boots. He wore a simple white collared shirt underneath his vest, unbuttoning a button or two to reveal a strong physique.

The two were gazing at the remains of the ruined town until the armoured one turned his head towards his companion.

"Xehanort, how many times must I tell you to wear your armour when travelling in the Rifts Between?" spoke the armoured one.

"My dear Eraqus, there is _far too much_ light in this universe for the darkness to ever touch me," Xehanort nonchalantly said. He simply ran his hand through his unkept silver hair. His tanned skin flexed with each stretch of his arms.

The one called Eraqus turned harshly to his friend, his armour clanking as he twisted. "Too much light? If there is too much light in this universe then why are places like this being destroyed, people being slaughtered?" retorted Eraqus. "If you ask me, then there is _far too much_ darkness in this universe."

"That is your answer to _everything_," Xehanort stressed, crossing his muscular arms. "Also, you should take that off before you scare anybody."

"It's the only answer to everything. Light is absolute. As the Master once said, darkness is the cause of destruction of mayhem in this world." Eraqus went to touch the gate. The gate was knocked down from the inside; the incisions made to it were from inside the gate.

"We, as Keybearers, must maintain the balance of the worlds, it's our job." Eraqus continued as he turned over one of the gate's door.

"Have you ever once thought about anything other than the Light? What if it is the unbalance of Light and Dark in this universe that causes this?" Golden eyes narrowed; bored. "There is no order in this world, hence why it is in pain. Rather than eradicating the darkness, we should keep the calm between the two." Xehanort tiredly said, looking at his deserted surroundings.

Eraqus groaned as he inspected the door. "I am not having this discussion with you again Xehanort. We have a mission to do and armour or not, you will help me''.

As the armoured friend examined the door, he noticed blood on the inside of the door along with the dents but on the other side he saw no such scratches.

Xehanort simply ignored his fellow comrade and walked into the village, striding confidently. Eraqus, simply sighed and raced up to him, his armour again clanking as he ran.

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><p>The bloodied youth continued to cry into his wounded arms. He didn't want to cry. It showed insecurity, despair but even worse it showed weakness; weakness for not helping, not lending a hand, for being incapable of strength and worse incapable of protecting the ones who needed him. He wanted to do something, he wanted to protect but all he could do was watch while bodies fell and blood splattered against white walls.<p>

He was useless.

The boy was too busy degrading himself that he was not able to hear the footsteps coming closer and closer towards him nor was he able to see the two figures making their way towards him.

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><p>As the two beings from the world beyond made their way to the centre of the premises they took notice of the town itself. It was a fairly large town, with it's own market and tram station. The town seemed to be built on a hill, judging from the slopes and knolls in the area. The main areas such as the marketplace and the centre were spacious though the houses and the streets seemed cramped and narrow, concluding that many people once lived here.<p>

The distribution of bodies was random. Some were in alleyways possibly trying to flee from the attackers, while others were greatly distributed near the main gate. Those would've been guards. Most civilian bodies were scattered across the normal streets. The strange thing was that only one gate was battered opened while the others were shut tight; impossible to open from the inside and out without proper tools. There was not even one sign of trying to invade on the outside but inside, there were nails and scratches imbedded into the carved wood.

'This would've meant that it was an inside job,' Eraqus mildly thought as he reached the heart of the town. '_Something wasn't trying to get in… Was it trying to get out?'_

Before the armoured one could deduce more, his tanned friend interrupted.

"Eraqus," he said, before pointing his index finger in a certain direction, golden eyes concentrated on that certain spot. "Look."

Eraqus turned his shielded head and looked in the same direction. He could barely make it out because he was about ten metres away but he saw a crouched body, no doubt crying. He began to run towards the small figure but Xehanort blocked him.

"Calm down," Xehanort coolly said, "We do not want to alarm the man, and if worse we want to avoid any conflict."

Eraqus composed himself and nodded to his best friend. He treaded towards the crying figure.

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><p>The only thing in sight was his bruised and battered arm. He did not even bother to lift up his head to see the strange beings. If he were going to die then it would be in his village. He deserved it; if he could not help his own home then he might as well pay it back…with his life.<p>

'_There's nothing left to protect. I've already lost everything,_' thought the youth.

One quick blow. One slash. Anything to deliver a quick death. He expected the presences before him to strike the final blow. So why didn't they?

He lifted his head up, only to come face to face with an armoured face.

Scared, the boy yelped and backed against the red ink-stained wall. His navy eyes were wide with shock and fear, his face; scrunched. Sweat began to perspire off his forehead, brows furrowed in fright.

The armoured figure backed away, knowing his mistake seeming apologetic.

His grey-haired companion reprimanded him. "I think I recall telling you to take your armour off."

The steel-clad warrior seemed to ignore his fellow friend before he was covered in light.

From the light, emerged a young man with black hair, tied up with a strand dangling on the side of his face. His covering changed into a more reserved look. The silver steel changed to a white cloak, only reaching his knees. His brown pants seemed to inflate to his calf, while iron shoes emerged from under the pants. On his torso was his armour, a strange heart-like insignia fixed onto it.

His wise eyes scanned the quivering boy before stepping forward.

"Hello," said the samurai-like man.

The boy only continued to quiver more, hesitant to talk to the strangers.

Eraqus warily stepped closer to the young lad, crouching down on one knee to meet eye-to-eye. " My name is Eraqus," he spoke before gesturing to his comrade. "This man here is my friend Xehanort."

Xehanort kept his gesture, arms crossed, yellow eyes jeering at the small boy.

"Charmed."

Eraqus disregarded his strange friend. "Do you know what happened here?" He asked.

The boy ceased most of his quivering, now curious with these beings though still scared. Still scared to answer. He continued to stare at the bizarre men.

"Forget it, he is probably too scared to answer," said Xehanort. "I say we leave him. As the Master would say, do not meddle in the affairs of other worlds."

"No."

Xehanort arched a brow, a hint of a smirk appearing on his lips.

"I will not leave this boy, he needs help and besides," Eraqus stated to his friend before turning back to face the boy. "I can feel the power in him."

"And if the Master disagrees?" asked his golden-eyed friend.

"Then I'll knock some sense into him."

At that remark, Xehanort burst out in laughter though keeping his stance. The youth and the samurai merely blinked at the laughing man, confused at this erratic behaviour.

Finally the laughter dissipated. "I truly enjoy it when the studious student shows some rebellion" Xehanort alleged, his smirk widening. "Especially when goody two-shoes tries to act tough when he cannot even touch the Master in combat."

The black-haired man cocked a brow at that last comment and turned to glare at his friend whose grin began to resemble a Cheshire cat's. He turned back to face the now confused boy before composing himself. He reached out a hand towards the boy.

"Come with me."

The boy's faded blue eyes widened at that imperative sentence.

"I will teach you the way of the guardian, teach you how to fight, how to defend for yourself," the man softly smiled.

"More importantly, how to protect the ones you love."

At that last comment, the boy began to tear up, eyes becoming watery due to the last hope these strangers had given him, especially the brown-eyed man. He did not want to cry though. Instead, he raised his arm to wipe away the small tears near the corner of his eyes.

Xehanort merely gave an intrigued look at the ragged boy. A slight smirk could be seen if one looked close enough.

The boy looked at Eraqus straight in the eye. Determined and without hesitation, he placed his hand upon the samurai's open one.

The wise man sincerely smiled. " What is your name, young one?" asked the kind man.

The boy slightly hesitated but he gathered his courage and spoke.

"My name is Terra."

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><p>Please review for the sake of an internet croissant :D<p>

Thank you TerraForceXIII for being my first reviewer! Kinda get boring at first but hey! In a chapter or two we may see our favourite mage!

If ya see any grammatical errors or so, please do inform me!

DCX Over and Out!


	3. Blues and Clues

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or Disney. KH and FF belong to Square Enix while Disney...belongs to Disney.**

**Genre: Adventure, Drama, with a touch of Mystery and a dash of Romance.**

**Pairings : Terqua, SoKai, VaNami and others.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2:<strong>

**Blues and Clues**

Bright yellow eyes peered outside, observing the castle gardens. The atmosphere had truly brightened, compared to the bloodbath they had seen just a semester ago. Colours had sprouted from every single scrub in the garden; lilacs, roses and all sorts of pretty flowers had adorned the castle grounds. The mood was so happy and so jaunty, all full of _sunshine and lollipops_.

_'It sickens me,'_ thought the grey-haired man whose eyebrow twitched at the overall sunshine.

"Glad you are enjoying the sunny weather Xehanort," spoke an intruding voice.

Xehanort merely scrunched his face; a look of annoyance was apparent on his face. He slightly twisted his head into the direction of the voice before snapping back to the _beautiful_ sight. It almost blinded him. It was too much to bear.

"If by enjoying you mean feeling absolutely repulsed then yes. I am _enjoying_ the sunny weather." Xehanort stressed, resting his forearms on the railings, a bored look etched on his tanned face. A sigh escaped his lips.

The white-cloaked man known as Master Eraqus leant on the railing as well, next to his fellow ex-apprentice. His scarred face giving off a concerned look to his silver-haired friend, who continued to ignore him. His companion glanced at him, slightly irritated at his constant staring. The Master turned around to lean his back against the rails.

"You know, ever since we've taken in Terra, he has been a happier person," said the Throne Keeper.

Xehanort continued to glare into the garden, noticing a tuft of brown hair as he squinted. '_Lazing about in the gardens as usual,'_ thought the golden-eyed man.

"He has been taking the lessons more seriously than I expected," Eraqus continued. "He is a strong boy and I know he is capable of many things."

It was then when Xehanort glanced at his long-time friend, listening to his words although he feigned an uninterested look upon his face.

"Who knows? Maybe he will become Master one day, the heir to the Throne," suggested the scar-faced man.

Xehanort face cringed at the man's statement. His face contorted with hidden rage and jealousy. 'If only I was the one chosen that day, then everything would be perfect,' thought the young man, recalling flashes of that day. The day he failed his Mark.

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><p><em>"Eraqus, you have passed and done remarkably well. Utilizing the Light to your attacks and magic, I am proud to have a student such as you."<em>

_Xehanort could recall seeing the pride and sheer happiness on the face of his so-called 'brother' as he turned to him with a shocked face. He could remember the emotions bubbling in his entire body at that time; the anger and the pure envy of his friend at that moment. It really was unfair._

_The next thing he knew was that the face of his Master turned to him, giving him a look of pity. That only enraged him even more; luckily he was able to keep a stoic face. He learned to keep his emotions under control and under a solid face._

_The Master shook his head in disappointment before stating, "Xehanort, you have done well." He then took a brief pause before continuing. "However, you have not gained the Mark. You have utilized the darkness once again despite the amount of times I have told you not to. I am sorry, but understand."_

_When he finished, he left the room, calling for Eraqus to follow him to the Chamber, where he would inform Eraqus of his duties and his new privileges, leaving the dark man to revel at his loss._

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><p>Xehanort winced at that small recollection, remembering the humiliation he had endured that day. 'Thank God that wretched fool is gone now,' he seethed.<p>

"You said something Xehanort?"

Xehanort quickly snapped back, "Nothing that concerns you," before lowering his head down. Eraqus simply quirked a brow and the sudden rudeness but ignored it as the norm before continuing.

"As I was saying before you wandered off into your own world," Eraqus went on, while the bored man scoffed at that sentence. "Terra is doing remarkably well. He also seems to have attracted the attention of my other apprentice."

Xehanort finally made a proper comment towards this discussion. "You mean the girl? The one with the way of the mage?" He questioned.

"She is the only other apprentice in this castle. You should take up an apprentice as well. Who knows? It may do you some good," the black-haired man suggested.

Xehanort glanced back to the frame, observing as a movement of azure blue made its way towards the brown-haired lazing boy in the castle grounds. "Indeed," was his only reply.

The Master of the Castle rotated his torso to face his concentrated friend. He had a serious matter to discuss with Xehanort. It was about the mass murder at that village.

Eraqus deduced that darkness could've been the cause of the village's slaughter. However, the amount of darkness should've lingered at least. It did not even leave one scent after the bloodbath, besides the blood. If it were the Heartless, they would've devoured the hearts and not even leave a body behind; that is their pattern. The hearts were gone but the bodies were left. With those on account, the size and the type of slashes indented into each of the carcasses were identical one way or another. The evidence erased the possibilities of a Heartless attack but suggested a different approach.

The scratches amongst each of the town walls, the bloodied bodies lying in the streets and the only gate that was left open was the main entrance, large slashes evident on the carved wood. An escapable village with all the townspeople trapped inside with the monstrosity. There was no possible escape route, all the gates were shut tight, and the walls were far too high for any mere citizen to climb. Mere coincidence, no. It was planned.

"Do you remember when we went to the citadel three months ago?" questioned the stern man.

Xehanort kept his mask on, devoid of any emotion. "Of course. I can still remember the horrid stench of the ruined corpses," he abruptly replied. He was truthful about this statement. He was unable to forget the stench of the mutilated bodies surrounding him. Yet, it gave him a sense of glee from within himself to think of such a matter.

"I have a theory I think you should listen to," proposed the Keeper, a serious expression set upon his damaged face. "Regarding what had occurred in the town itself, there was no evidence of an invasion whatsoever but there were signs of internal struggle. There was no way of escaping, leaving the civilians vulnerable for attack," informed the torso-armoured man.

"Stating the obvious," remarked the dark-tanned man, turning his body to fully face his foster brother.

"But the overall analysis itself proves a simple fact. The being that killed the townsfolk came from within the village, was possibly not alone. It may have had accomplices but I am not sure for that matter. The high vicinities and the gates locked the civilians in, keeping them with the beings." Master Eraqus took a deep breath to voice out his conclusion.

"The beings weren't the ones that were trapped...It was the civilians," informed Eraqus. "It was a set-up, to destroy and claim the lives of many."

Xehanort stared at his brother, before tilting his head to see the recent apprentice playing a silly game with the young magician. Yellow eyes bore into that scenery before he turned his back on his friend.

"It seems that way," was his only response to his comrade's assumption before he began to stride back to his quarters.

"It is sad that we were unable to save so many innocent lives on that moonless night Eraqus," Xehanort 'melancholically' stated while he walked back into the hallway leaving his long-time companion alone in the main hall.

As he turned the corner, he lowered his voice to a simple whisper, a smug smirk widening itself across his tanned face, bright eyes narrowed in glee as he made his exit.

"Perhaps next time, we will."

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><p>Eraqus stood in a stationary position ever since Xehanort took his leave, thoughtful about the behaviour of his long-time brother and his overall views on the subject itself. He couldn't be anything but suspicious of Xehanort. He did not like to have such disturbing concepts in his mind and it dearly hurt to think of such ridiculous things. He knew he should believe in the Light no matter what, it will shine the truth...But if there was a possibility, he knew he would have to deal with such. Even if he didn't want to.<p>

'I must keep an eye on him..." The tired man quietly whispered to himself, resting the palm of his hand on the golden metal. He silently watched as the two figures in his view swiftly moved and dashed around the premises of his inherited castle, his brows relaxing at the sight of his current apprentices.

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><p>Please review guys! It truly helps and all! I try to get one chapter ahead before I post the other so yep! The next chap is undergoing editing as of this moment!<p>

And for next chapter, we get to see the appearance of our cool little magician! She and our cute lil' Terra have a chapter for themselves!

Over and Out!

DCX


	4. Radiance

**Disclaimer : I do not own Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts or Disney! They each belong to their respective owners.**

Please forgive any common errors or mistakes. This is my first story on so I hope you enjoy guys!

PM ME for any enquiries.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3:<strong>

**Radiance**

The bright light that radiated from the sunlit sky shone its radiance across the world known as the Land of Departure. The mountains casted shadows on the earth, the waterfalls gleamed with specks of light and the golden chains that connected the floating castle to the world shimmered, reflecting the light back and forth. In the flowering gardens rested the boy whom had escaped the desolated world with the aid of the Master and his companion.

Terra laid on the grounds with his eyes closed albeit not asleep. He was aware of his surroundings, every sound the grass made as it danced in the wind as well as the beautiful smell of the flowers surrounding the area. Except, one thing the youth could not notice was the presence of another, slowly creeping their way to his personal space.

What Terra did notice was that the loss of sunlight on his face as well as the light disappearing before his lightly shut eyes. Annoyed at the loss of heat, he squinted his eyes and peered at the figure above his tanned face to get a better look at the culprit. His eyes bulged out of his head as he discovered the distance between his eyes and _hers._ Blue. Blue was the only colour he could see at this state. The azure eyes merely stared at the brunette's own cobalt ones. The close proximity caused him to react rather suddenly, per say, banging his forehead against the blunette's own.

"Ow!" exclaimed the youths. The brunette clutched his cranium with both hands, falling back onto the grass while the young girl lay on the grass copying the same motion as the boy.

Terra who was slowly being relieved of the throbbing pain in his head, twisted his body and crept over to the young girl, worried. Though her hands were still covering her face, the girl started to tremble. Terra became more worried and even anxious at the recent reaction. He leant over her and placed his hands on her shivering shoulders.

"Hey... Hey!" Terra continued to shake the quivering figure hoping to get a different reaction than the one she was exhibiting. Getting no new response from the blunette, he panicked and shook harder.

"Aqua!" exclaimed the spikey-haired boy.

Laughter filled the air, the laughs coming from the longhaired girl herself. Her sea-blue hair flew up as she threw her head back, all the while continuing to explode in delight. She fell back on the grass and kicked her slim legs in the air, her whole body spasming in joy at the same time. The boy simply blinked in confusion, before his face reddened in annoyance and frustration.

"You tricked me!" he accused at the girl who was in a fit of laughter. His face continued to discolour as the girl ignored him; his allegations were lost in her joyful glee. If Terra was in a garden of fruits and vegetables, he could be labelled as a giant tomato as of this moment. "I was actually worried for a moment Aqua!"

The girl's blue hair shifted with each twist and turn of her head, her sock-covered legs continued to sway in the air while the light blue cloth-like skirt wrapped around her waist moved along with her body. Her face also reddened, but not in annoyance but due to lack of oxygen. "I couldn't help it," she stuttered, attempting to take a breath, "The look on your face was priceless!"

Terra fumed at the comment. "I don't care if it was or not! I seriously thought I hurt you for a moment!" He crept over to the crazy girl and crossed his legs, leering at the girl and also, pouting. The girl was quite the trickster. She was a strong girl and had a lot of magic potential as the Master had once said. She always excelled in their magic lessons and was already learning Level-3 magic. Terra knew one thing and one thing only; never underestimate Aqua. The results can be shocking…literally.

Aqua was able to catch her breath and shifted to her side to face Terra with a cute face. "Aww, I'm sorry Terra," she sincerely said, resting her hand on Terra's knee, reassuring him not to worry. She then giggled, holding up her hand to her mouth. "I'll try not to do it again."

Terra simply turned his head away, not wanting to look at the face that can make him fall completely under her spell. She was quite renown for that. She could make any kind of face, and the maids and servants of the castle would still come to her aid, even if she weren't exactly royalty like Xehanort or Master Eraqus. " Damn right you are not. What are you doing here anyway?" he asked to the blue girl, "We have a day off so what's up?"

The young girl leant up and sat across the deep ocean-eyed boy, placing her hands on her knees. "Well, since it was a day off, I was able to escape from Mother and came out here to see you!" She gleamed, throwing her hands up in the air to further emphasise her joy. Terra shook his head and chuckled. He placed his hand in his hair and scratched. "You do know that you should probably tell her that you've gone out. You know how worried she gets." Terra half-jokingly said before standing up and brushing off some tiny specks of grass of his coffee-coloured, baggy overalls.

"Well, she would make me do some chores, that's for sure. And it's such a beautiful day, so I figured we should spend it outside!" Aqua cheerful exclaimed, raising her arms to 'connect' with her surroundings. Terra raised an eyebrow at her statement. 'She sure is one weird girl,' he thought.

The brown-haired boy turned to the young witch, putting his knuckles on his waist. "So, what did you want to do then?" he asked, keeping the same super-hero pose.

The blunette stood up with some help from her best friend. She, too, dusted the small pieces of grass off her baby blue skirt and socks. She then smiled at her friend while placing a finger on her lips, pondering. "Well, I was wondering if you want to take a walk down to the fountain in the training grounds. We could play you know?" she suggested while turning her back and strutted around.

Terra kept his eyes on her, kept his eyes on her movements before grinning happily back and saying "Sure! I was getting bored of sleeping around!" Aqua turned her body back to face Terra's before leaning forward slightly, smiling all the way. "Well, let's go then!" She energetically replied before bouncing off ahead of Terra.

"Hey! Wait up!" Terra yelled, racing after his best friend.

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><p>Terra eventually caught up but was unable to find Aqua anywhere. 'I bet you she used magic to run down all those stairs', he alleged. He looked at his surroundings.<p>

To his right, was a golden bridge, which glimmered in the sunshine of the afternoon. And to his left, were the training circuits, which included a small obstacle course for stamina and the rings. The golden rings, which resembled the chains that held up the castle, were used as target practices for the young apprentices, but they were mainly used by the youths as swings and toys. As long as the Master did not know, then all is well. Before him lay a series of small waterfalls and ponds, which had lilies floating on the surface. He truly loved his new home. Not only did Terra make wonderful new friends but he also had a natural environment, which he found suitable for one's mental health.

He searched around the area, looking for his azure-eyed friend. He searched around the benches, underneath the golden bridge and even on the hill. But he could find Aqua nowhere.

"Aqua! Come out!" He shouted, his voice echoing across the land. He searched near the lower fall, knowing that there is a small crevice hidden behind some. He went into the water, quickly raising his hand to counter the water's flow. Alas, he could find no girl just a strange symbol engraved on the mark behind the waterfall. Curious at the mark, Terra placed his finger amongst the edges not caring that he was getting soaked. It was vague but it resembled the signature that he and Aqua wore upon themselves, a heart-like symbol.

"Surprise!" came a loud voice from behind him. He turned just in time to receive a crushing hug from the longhaired girl. He was not expecting that. Nor did he expect that once he crashed along with the blue mage against the inscribed wall, that the wall itself disappeared in a glimmer of light, allowing him and his friend to fall into the dark abyss.

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><p>He held on to his friend tightly, afraid that he was going to lose her if he let go. They both screamed for their lives, confused at the new turn of events. Here, they were looking forward to a fun game of cat and mouse. Later, they fell down the rabbit hole to god-knows-where.<p>

The mage grasped tightly to his red suspenders and leant her head in his chest, afraid of what may happen or where they might end up. The young apprentice grasped tightly onto his blue-haired friend. He promised that he would protect anyone he could if he had the chance ever since he became an official resident of the Castle.

Eyes shut tightly; they knew nothing of their surroundings. That was before they both fell headfirst into cool water. It was different though. The water was cool and refreshing but it was also warm and reminded him of home. Not the Castle home, but his home. Before the terror, before those events had occurred, it reminded him of a once carefree and peaceful life he lived with his family. He missed it dearly.

He and Aqua both let go of each other and swam to the water's surface. They both took a large breath of air before brushing the wet strands of hair away from their face. They both awed and took in the view before them.

Before them was a large spring surrounded by various different flowers, all different colours of the rainbow. Water lilies and lotuses were scattered on the water's surface, the buds of the plants were emanating with a rosy-coloured light. After half a minute or two, the colours the water plants were emitting would change spectrum. The flowers surrounding the spring would also change. The water was a different matter. The water would float and form into bubble-like spheres, giving a surreal look to the enchanting environment. Streams of liquid would flow out and form bridge-like matter, travelling all the way across one side of the spring to the other side. The dreamlike drops of water would form together and bend around the branches of the tree, which lied in the middle of the spring. The leaves of the tree would glow different colours much like the plants of the area. The branches resembled that of any normal tree, smooth and thick in nature however, the branches did not diverge from their source, they were bent in a certain way so that the overall shape of the tree resembled a heart. The addition of the streaks of water wrapping themselves around the branches as well as the spectrum change in each leaf made the scenery look completely ethereal.

"Beautiful," Aqua said as she swam by to get a clearer look around. Terra followed her, reaching the shallow area of the spring , amazed by the scenery as well. He could not believe such a place could exist underground, heck, even underneath a waterfall! "I know," muttered Terra "Is this like…The Master's garden or something?"

"Could be," quietly replied the ocean-eyed girl. She hastily twisted her body and leant in close to Terra, who flinched at the sudden reaction. She grinned mischievously at Terra. "Or this could be our new spot!"

Terra blinked a couple of times to rid himself of excess water and to take a second to realize what Aqua proposed. He looked around once more. It seems like no one has touched this place meaning it would be just for Aqua and him. It also did look like fun with all the floating water and streams. The flowers fragranced the area and the tree did look climbable. This was a perfect spot for a hideout. For a secret place.

Terra excitedly spun his body back to face Aqua's own and nodded, smiling the whole way through. "This is perfect" Terra thought looking back at the beautiful sight. He felt something sneak into his hand and checked what it was.

It was Aqua's own hand, intertwining her fingers with his own. She looked at him and happily smiled. Terra's face heated up as he saw the beautiful smile on her face. He turned his head away to hide his blushing face.

The mage giggled at his shy nature, squeezing his hand to add reassurance. She slightly blushed when she felt his hand tighten around hers. The squeeze was a bit tight but gentle and careful. Then she heard him mutter something.

"We need a name though…for this place, yeah?" queried Terra. His other hand covering his flushed face while the other continued to grasp Aqua's. "You choose."

The blunette contemplated about the name of their new secret place. She thought about the attributes of the area itself. There were so many to choose from, it was just too hard to make up a name.

However, there was one distinct thing that she noticed when she landed in this realm with Terra: the sound of bells. The echoes of bells reverbed throughout the spring. It was holy and at the same time, enchanting.

She noticed Terra was staring straight at her as she was thinking up a name for the spot. He immediately turned his head straight back to the heart-shaped tree.

She looked at Terra for a moment before grinning like a madman.

"I've got the perfect name for this place!"

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><p>Whew! That was a long chapter. God, writing 9-year olds are so fun yet frustrating D:<p>

I would like to thank TerraForceXIII and Resistance123 for being my first reviewers. Thanks a lot guys!

So guys, if you are reading this story please review! It would help!

Also note, I have my exams coming up soon so I may not update for a while.

So far, I shall be playing Type-0 and XIII-2 when they come out.

Have fun guys!

DGX Over and Out!


	5. Perfect

**Disclaimer : I do not own Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts or Disney! They each belong to their respective owners.**

PM ME for any enquiries.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

**Perfect**

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><p>As the years went by, and time passed on, The Land of Departure only grew ever more beautiful. The golden chains that held up the castle sparkled in the light, the garden was filled with flowers of every colour of the rainbow and the residents radiated this land with their smiling faces. Nothing could ever be more perfect. <p>

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><p>"TERRA!" hollered a bright and cheerful voice.<p>

A nimble yellow flash whooshed pass the maids and servants of the castle, carefully avoiding any obstacle that was in its path. The blonde youth only stopped for a couple of seconds, a hand raised to his forehead as he narrowed his eyes to look for a certain someone.

Seeing none in his sight, the blonde named Ventus, took his next bet.

He went up the stairs, down the hall, to the throne room; past the dining room to finally meet his destination. Beautifully carved into the wood was one word, or rather one name: 'Terra'. The little flash had a devious little grin on his face as a flash of light came to his hand. He then quietly opened the door to the room.

The room was rather messy inside; clothes were lying on the floor, books were untidily on the shelf and papers were covering the sturdy desk on the side of the bed. But Ventus did not bother about those, his eyes locked onto the sleeping figure on the bed.

Ventus slowly tiptoed his way to the brown-haired teen, careful to avoid making any sound. His grin could not get any wider as he raised his hands to his mouth.

"WAKE UP TERRA!" excitedly yelled the blond-haired boy.

The muscular man woke up to the noise and tumbled his way onto the floor, all the while mumbling incoherent words.

The blonde laughed as the man grumbled.

"Ven?" Terra asked, "How did you get in?"

Ven raised his hands behind his head, looking down at the sleepy man. "Through the door, duh!" he retorted.

Terra moved his way from the floor and rose to his full height, looking down at the baby blue-eyed imp now as his face scrunched. "I was sure I locked the door…" mumbled the tired teen, his dark cobalt eyes drowsy.

"What do you think these are for then!" replied the blond as he whipped out a key-shaped object in a flash. The sleek object was twirled around his hand before he flipped it and dispelled it away.

The man face-palmed himself while groaning in agitation. "Ven, you cannot use the Keyblade to enter anyone's room. Especially mine," ranted Terra as he threw his hands up into the air, "Why couldn't you knock? That would've been easier!"

"And hear one of your snores? No way!" answered Ven as he held his arms in a cross shape on his chest. "Well, time to eat breakfast! Come on! We're having pancakes!" exclaimed Ven as he turned to run out the door.

Terra flopped down on his bed while grabbing his blanket. "Latterrrrr" he sluggishly groaned as he turned his back to Ven. He was having such a perfect day too. After a long night of hard practice, all he wanted to do was sleep in on such a nice day. Sure he would have to wake up sometime but right now was the perfect time to sleep some more. Luckily he remembered to turn off his alarm this time before he drifted off to sleep. But with the way his young friend was acting right now, screaming into his ear and yelling across the place, who needs an alarm?

The youth sharply turned, eyes narrowing down at his friend and lips pouted. That all changed as he sneakily grinned once again. He raised his hand to his mouth and then…

Terra was about to drift off to sleep again, but once he felt something wet and slimy against his face, his eyes widened sharply and he abruptly sat up. He held a palm to the wet substance and turned his head to the snickering young boy.

"UURRGH!" he yelled, as he grabbed the nearest cloth to rid himself of his friend's saliva, rubbing his face hard. Once he was sure it was all gone, turned to his friend with a hateful glare.

"Ven…" the man darkly uttered.

The blond-haired and blue-eyed little rascal just grinned before backing away from the awakened beast.

"Catch me if you can" was his only answer before his zoomed out of the room, careful to avoid any obstacle in his way.

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><p>Sitting in the library was a young blue-haired woman, who was currently reading an ancient spell book entitled " Advanced Enchanted Spells: Utilizing Light ". The mage sat side-ways on the lounge chair, as she drank some nourishing tea.<p>

She sighed contently and looked outside the window gazing at the beautiful land and all its glory. Her sapphire blue eyes slowly closed as she leaned her head against the arm of the chair to relax.

"What a perfect day," the young mage said gently, "What could ever happen?"

Unfortunately, the silence was suddenly interrupted by the voice of her beloved friend.

"Morning Aqua!" shouted a rambunctious voice.

Aqua raised her head, lightly opening her eyes just as she saw the quick little boy dash across the room and out the door.

"Morning Ven" was her only reply she got to the yellow flash before he left the once-quiet library. She was only able to take a sip of her tea, before another sight completely overwhelmed her.

There chasing the nimble youth was her best friend, half naked and running around the castle. The only piece of clothing, that muscular friend had on, was a set of boxers. Everything else was as clear to her as glass. Time slowed, and the bluenette could feel the heat rush to her face. She couldn't swallow.

The blue-haired magician's body stiffened into a right angle as she spewed her hot drink onto the pages of ancient book. Her eyes widened in horror as the pages dampened with the aromatic drink. The contents of the book, centuries old, easily and endlessly bled down the soaked page. Ancient magic spells became blobs of ink. Endless years of recordings became pages of dead black.

Aqua could not be anymore shocked. One moment she was analysing Light and its utilization in movements and magic, the next she was gawking at her childhood friend and his toned body. Not only that but she would never be able to complete her extra Advanced Magic coursework thanks to her friends.

She quickly recovered from the shock, composing herself before she sat up and slowly stalked after her friends. Her slender body was set ridged straight as her arms swayed by her sides. A deadly glare set straight in her ocean-blue eyes. But the colour of her face remained flushed-pink, earning comments from many young maids as she strode down the pathways.

They were answered with an icy glare.

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><p>A black-haired boy walk down the halls of the Land of Departure, smiling a sneaky smile. He wasn't smiling due to the beautiful condition of the land but rather as he had learned a new spell yet to be learned out of his master's teachings. On and off, went the black fire in his hands. Yellow eyes narrowed in delight as he gazed at flame in his hand.<p>

'_That'll teach that old man,'_ thought the cunning youth _'Can't learn Dark Fire just yet, my arse. Maybe burning that goatee off will teach him to hold me back.'_

At that thought, the boy's grin widened in amusement as he strutted down the hallway, fingers playing with the black flame, humorous dark thoughts implanting their way into his mind.

However, his thoughts were suddenly disturbed by the sounds of laughter and rage. An eyebrow twitched in irritation.

He looked ahead and saw a blond-haired boy the same age as him gradually get closer and closer.

"Hey Van, Bye Van!' shouted the enthusiastic Ven as he ran by his older brother. Van merely frowned as his younger brother passed by.

'Great. The little brat to spoil all the fun,' thought the dark-haired teen.

Him and his brother had only arrived on this world three years ago. He couldn't remember much of his home world nor of his past but when he first came to this world, he was covered in blood and was holding a young blonde in his arm. He walked endlessly, protecting the boy as if his life depended on it. Hours passed by and he thought he was ready to give up. He remembered seeing golden eyes before his vision passed out on the star-filled night sky.

Vanitas shook the memory out of his head and continued to play with his fire some more, the small pyre acting out as a stress-reliever.

He was only able to turn his gaze straight ahead before loud and heavy stomps distracted him. He looked ahead and saw a shirtless Terra making his way to him. Vanitas was playing cool but inside, he was scared as hell. Nothing was scarier sight than a shirtless Terra with a Keyblade in hand, raging about like a ticked-off rhino.

Surely nothing could beat this sight. But was he wrong. Not far behind the spiky-haired man was Aqua. Not only was her glare set dead straight at Terra's back but on one hand was a book. He couldn't tell what kind but Vanitas guessed it was an advanced spell book, and by the looks of it, a soaked one. That was one reason for a ticked off Aqua but with her Keyblade in the other hand, the situation must've been serious.

As she came closer, Vanitas caught hint of a red-flushed face. _'Hmmm,_' the golden-eyed youth thought, '_Maybe I can have some fun with this._' Vanitas' eyes glimmered at the thought.

As the deadly blue mage strode pass the boy, he put his hand into his pockets, slouched down a bit and mischievously grinned, 'Hey Aqua, why so red?'

And with that note, the calm turned into the storm, and as quick as lightning, Aqua whipped around and blasted Blizzaga at Vanitas, who did not see it coming.

Vanitas' mouth spread open as the ice spell was thrown at him. He was only able to twist his body past the spell by an inch before it hit the wall. He snickered as he was able to avoid it but he felt an empty feeling in his hand. He looked to his palm and the black fire was gone. He was only able to notice out of the corner of his eyes small flecks of flame. His eyes widened in panic as he spun his head only to see the velvet curtains of the hallway on fire. Strangely they were black at first but dissolved into the normal orange colour. He started panicking as he knew what would happen if the Master found out about this mess. His teeth clenched and his eyes flung side to side.

The servants and maids started crowding around the hallway, screaming and yelling in panic. Some were rushing by and some were causing a mess by clumsily running into the others. Vanitas could not get anymore ticked off.

_'Who started this fire?'_

_'What should we do?'_

_'Are you alright Master Vanitas?'_

Vanitas only growled at those incoming questions. And it was such a perfect day as well.

'Just hurry up and get that fire out you fools!' ordered the golden-eyed youth angrily.

The servants did as they were told and conjured up some water magic to douse up the fierce flames. 'How could they not think of that first?' Vanitas questioned in his head.

As the servants were working on the flames, the raven-haired teen leered towards the end of the hallway, golden eyes contracted into thin slits. Voice lowered an octave below while a deep frown set itself upon his face.

'Oh they are _so_ going to pay,' Vanitas whispered darkly, '_So so badly…' _

And then the dark-haired boy chased after the trio down the hallway, chaos wreaking its way across the Land of Departure.

And the day was so perfect as well…

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><p><strong>And done!<strong>

Wow, I was really behind with this story! I am terribly sorry for not updating guys. I was looking through my folders and found the last chapter I left off for this before I went to Vietnam.

Please forgive me, I'll give you cookies and some info on KH characters! ( Just because I read the Japanese novels)

Just to say, oh my god! Dream Drop Distance is so amazing! Everything is just…**AHHH!** I cannot wait for it to come out in AUS soon! _I will just fangirl and die. _

Hope to see you next time! Please review guys, my writing has probably gotten messy after a while so it would help!

Zanzetsuken out!


	6. Thoughts

**I do not own any of the characters! This is pure fanfiction! If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would make Terqua full on canon.**

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><p><em><strong>Thoughts<strong>_

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><p><em>Land of Departure ~Throne Room~<em>

'I expected much more mature behaviour from you all,' reprimanded the grand master as he turned his vision towards the blue-haired mage. The Master had indeed aged quite a bit. His tied-up hair; greying, his face; scarred. His eyes were dull but reflected his wisdom.

'This behaviour, I can expect from young Ventus, maybe even Terra to an extent, but from you Aqua? You disappoint me', scolded Master Eraqus, as he set his grey eyes straight. He let out a held breathe as he continued his lecture.

The four apprentices looked down in shame, unable to meet their teacher's hard gaze, except for the golden-eyed apprentice. Vanitas merely glanced sideways at his fellow apprentices before turning his eyes back to a circlet of crystals behind the grand master, quietly yet obviously ignoring the lecture.

Terra stood up straight, his gaze straight to the polished floor beneath him. The earth-warrior slightly turned his gaze towards his fellow apprentice, Ventus whom they called Ven. He thought up of the name when he was training with the young boy, thinking that his original name was rather annoying to fully say. After that, Aqua joking said that they should call Vanitas Van then. The windswept golden-haired youth got used to his nickname easily, preferring it to his other name. The raven-haired boy…not so much. At first, he got easily agitated and even raised his Keyblade at the older apprentices. Eventually, he came to accept it, after a whole session of crying and nagging from his younger brother. Terra smirked at the memory, knowing that if Ven were to cry, then nothing would be able to resist him, even Terra himself.

The spiked brunet raised an eyebrow when he noticed the boy next to him was shaking. Terra inched over a bit when the master wasn't looking. He quickly bent his upper body to catch a glimpse of Ven's face. Eyes big and blue, the golden haired boy tried his best to stop quivering. Tears threatened to spill out of his sky blue eyes. Terra looked over to his blue-haired friend, eyes filled with worry.

Aqua had already taken notice of Ven's current being. She always had been, even when they had found them, she had always taking care of Ven and Van. It must've been a natural instinct. Her azure eyes set its sights on Terra now, the two reflecting worry for their youngest apprentice whom they could call their little brother. Her short-cut hair cast shadows on her pale cheek as she looked at her beloved brother once more. She just couldn't bear him when he started crying. It was just too sad and heartbreaking to see.

The Master had returned to his original position, standing in front of the three thrones. He shifted his stare to his youngest apprentice. Even he himself had to admit; it was rather…difficult to withstand Ventus when he was in such an unstable state. The scar-faced man merely exhaled, his facial expression morphing from one of seriousness to one of care.

A brief pause filled the entire throne-room.

'I suppose a set of curtains are not that much of what you youths call… a big deal,' Eraqus slowly let out with his eyes shut and head bowed down, 'and spellbooks could always be tracked down I suppose…'

He raised his head and simply cast a smile at the youths. Ventus was back to his chirpy self again and almost all the younglings had let out a heavy breathe. _'I hope I was not too hard on them'_, thought the master.

'You are all dismissed,' decided the successor to the throne as his smile was replaced with patience, ' be sure not to let me have such a talk like this ever again.'

At the mention, all the apprentices bowed in respect, holding a hand over their heart. And with that, the Master turned and walked back to his quarters.

After he was completely sure the master was gone, Ven bounced up into the air and yelled in happiness. Terra, Aqua and Van even had to cover their ears from the loud noise which was Ven.

'Oh yeah! That was so close! I thought the Master was gonna crack!', exclaimed the young boy as he hastily moved around his friends and his brother.

The earth-haired teen smirked and grabbed his ecstatic friend and got him in a headlock.

'Was all that just a rouse just so he would stop lecturing us?' teased Terra as he began to ruffle his friend's blond hair. The mage began to giggle softly as she saw the cute sight. In the corner of her eyes, she could see the dark-haired boy as he came to her side, a small smirk edging its way across his face. She merely smiled and continued to giggle.

_This is … nice_

'So what are we gonna do now guys' quickly questioned the sky-eyed boy who was just able to get out of the headlock.

The others looked rather perplexed with what they could do. They had already caused havoc within the castle, what more could they do.

A low grumble echoed throughout the throne room. Everyone turned their heads down to that familiar source of noise; Terra's stomach. Silence resumed as Terra quickly turned his head, a dark shade of red apparent on his tanned face.

'Some breakfast would be very nice right about now', spoke the brown-haired youth as he broke the awkward silence and clutched his stomach to hide it from the tormenting eyes of his fellow friends.

They just stood there staring at him before bursting out in a fit of loud laughter. Even Vanitas couldn't help but laugh. It was indeed contagious. No, these guys were contagious.

Terra turned his back onto his friends after their laughing fit, embarrassed by the unusual sound of his stomach. Aqua walked up to her best friend, hands intertwined together behind her back.

'Alright, how about I make you some ice-cream for breakfast?', generously asked the blunette as she turned around to face her rigid friend, a sweet smile adorning her gentle and calm face, her blue hair swaying as she moved.

The spiky haired brunet opened one eye to focus on his friend before he began to smile, 'Why Aqua, I don't think that is an appropriate breakfast?' he said as he began to circle her like a lion.

'Usually, there would just be cereal from the maids or a piece of toast from you but something so sweet and _delicious_… I wonder if something had changed your mind.'

At times Terra couldn't help it, seeing her blush was probably the best thing he has ever seen in his life. It was just too adorable and the pout that followed shortly always made his heart jump. He was referring to his unfortunate accident that caused her to spill her tea over a silly spell book. A shirtless him. Just the thought widened his grin.

The young magician abruptly turned her head away from her friend's eyes and pushed him away from her. The act was expected by Terra. He simply chuckled whilst the two brothers watched from a distance.

"I-I-I'll go and get Namine to help me now!" Aqua shouted as she ran to get her friend. Vanitas perked up at the mention of the maid. The three boys left alone together in the throne room. An awkward silence once again filled the room before the nimble boy broke into a run.

'C'mon! Last one there get's the strawberry flavoured one!' Ven yelled as he ran down the hall. Vanitas broke into a small run as he too went down the hall, leaving eldest apprentice the last to leave.

Terra contently smiled at the actions of the younger apprentices. Aqua knew that he loved nuts and almond. She always put it into his ice-cream. But he wouldn't mind some Royalberry ice-cream, especially if Aqua made it.

The oldest apprentice then began to walk to the kitchen, thoughts of his new life filling his scarred heart. He walked on; content and believing that nothing could ever break what he now had.

_But for the lurking shadows… It was only a matter of time._

_Oh yes… **only a matter of time…**_

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><p><em><strong>Garrrhh!<strong> _

I guess it has been quite a while since I last updated ahaha _/gets glares from everyone_

Well, I'm on a 6-day holiday right now so yay! Been playing Days on Proud and well as DDD. My god! they are hard! Stupid Days controls and no analog stick. ( Still loved the game though! )

**YES EVERYONE GET KH3D! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT! ALL THE FEELS AND PAIN AND EVERYTHING IS JUST TOO GOOD. **

Yeah so get it :D Other than that, the Korra fandom has been going pretty frantic! I just can't like Mako. I just can't! Everyone else I love but Mako.

Well there was my rant! Reviews are welcome!

ZZ out!


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